Why don't parents say 'no'?

There seems to be an entire swath of middle class, wishy-washy liberals that regard telling their offspring to bloody behave, and stop being annoying, selfish little brats, as tantamount to child abuse.

I see it all the time. They're going to grow up to be horrible adults

Slightly off-topic, but I brought my kids up to be (mostly) polite, well behaved and respect authority.

They miss out on a lot of stuff because they don't argue the point/push to the front etc. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing

its a good theory binners, but when meat supplies are low i'd prefer my kid to be able to kill from a distance instead of having to run up close and bash its skull in. saves energy, and when there's a shortage you dont want to be expending kcals you can't get back!

plus, the snipers are the cool ones in films, not the bumbling fools that are running about at the front getting all killed and stuff.

I was in the pub on Saturday afternoon and on the table next to us was a family with 4 kids. All 4 spent the entire time on their electronic devices and didn't communicate with each other or their parents - 'cept maybe electronically?!

... back in my day we'd be left outside with a Vimto and a bag of crisps fending off Paedo's for ourselves with no form of communication other than shouting....

It's a question of logic..
Even at 4, yunki jr is a clear and singing instrument of crisp irrefutable logic..
There is no logic in laying down rules that have there basis in angst or stubbornness and materialism..
Your child will see straight through these constructs of the insecure adult mind and will pull you up on it..

Slightly off-topic, but I brought my kids up to be (mostly) polite, well behaved and respect authority.

They miss out on a lot of stuff because they don't argue the point/push to the front etc. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing

Ditto. Saw my little 'un waiting patiently bless her, at a party when they were giving out balloons only to find in the ensuing scrum she didn't get one. Life lesson but she got a better treat from me and the missus when we went to town later for being so polite.

My kids can have pretty much whatever they want really, its not a question of yes or no... IMO its more about teaching them value, bargaining and negotiation than saying no for the sake of it. They arent spoilt though and they dont always get what they want, because, hey, that s the way life is. I second the comment above, too many adults are missing out in life because they have been "taught" to be passive by their parents by accepting no for an answer.

No...? What! Wait a minute, why not?

Edit; Not that I teach them to barge to the front of balloon parties though. :0)

So you're the one ! you're the one responsible, by arming your children with all and sundry, forcing all the other children in the village to pester their parents to allow them to keep up with your children.
I knew it !

It's a question of logic..
Even at 4, yunki jr is a clear and singing instrument of crisp irrefutable logic..
There is no logic in laying down rules that have there basis in angst or stubbornness and materialism..
Your child will see straight through these constructs of the insecure adult mind and will pull you up on it..

I've got a clear view on what's worthwhile and what's not. If it's a tool to enable you to do something good, then it's alright. That includes computers, something for playing the odd game, bikes, sporting equippment, etc. Phones are good for keeping in touch with your friends, that's a good thing to be doing imo.

But everything is to be used responsibly. We already have a no phones at the table rule, even though it's just me and Mrs G who have them. Our 4 year old pulls us up on it.

Ton when I witnessed a motorcyclist being side-swiped at c40mph. Only me and a bus driver helped. Everyone on the bus gawped and drivers rushing to Man Utd scarcely slowed. I had to stand over the biker in the dual carriageway trying to slow the drivers.

One thing I'd like to look into is a tracking device (not a phone) - if they ever make one small enough to fit into the lining of clothing etc.

Well, the higher-end smartphones have that, certainly iPhones do, and I think there's a similar feature for Android phones. You just install the appropriate app, and then you can see where the phone is at any time.
Mine even shows my Mac Mini, which came as a bit of a surprise!

Most people don't want others in their peer group to think they're hard up.
I couldn't give a rats stuff if my son doesn't have a PS3 / DS3D / whatever. Its not important and he doesn't want one. I don't subscribe to this bullshit that a child needs the latest electronic gizmo just because his friends have. We have a PS2 and a Wii and lego, guess which gets which gets used the most?
I see 7 yo's with iPods and it just makes me wince. Since when did we become so obsessed with all this unnecessary technology?

I had JVC and a succession of Sony Walkmans. What WILL make me wince is the damage it will be doing their ears. I'm sure my ears would be sharper if it wasn't for cranking up the volume to cope with traffic noise.....

things are a little bit differant to when folk on here were kids.
How?

Thatchter innit destroyed society and all that
Its different in lots of way clearly.

There are two issues.
Firstly we all want our kids to be in touch and up to date to some degree. Mine have a DS, Wii and a tablet [ grandparents bought mind]. They may ask to use them about twice a week but that is it. I asked the eldest about a phone due to this thread- aged 8 and he looked confused and asked why he would want one.
Secondly you cannot say yes to everything as they wont learnt the value of anything and few of us have pockets deep enough to do this.

All things with parenting are a compromise and teaching the kids responsibility

As for tracking your kids - the aim is to always know where they are anyway and this seems both overly intrusive and paranoid tbh